relaçãovsrelatarWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: relação is a noun, relatar is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“relação” is a noun and “relatar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#381
“relação” frequency rank
#11,954
“relatar” frequency rank
12335
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature relação relatar
Definition relacionamento narrar, mencionar, referir

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set relação and relatar apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
relação
7 ch
relatar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: relação is anoun and relataraverb. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12335, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

relação is recorded at frequency rank #381, classified as anoun. relatar is at rank #11,954, tagged as averb, pronounced /Rɨ.lɐ.ˈtaɾ/.

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 12335, this pair ranks #60,297 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of relação vs relatar

Shared letters: aelr. Private to "relação": oãç. Private to "relatar": t.

"relação" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV  ·  "relatar" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • relatarerlatar · realtar · relaatr · relatarr · relatra · relattar · rellatar · reltaar

Frequency comparison

relação#381
relatar#11,954

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "relação" and "relatar" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "relação" is a noun and "relatar" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "relação" or "relatar"?
"relação" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #381 in our Portuguese list, against #11,954 for "relatar". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering relação vs relatar

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “relação”; for a verb, it's “relatar”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “relação” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list